Australia, Japan, host New Zealand to tune up for WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship at TAB Challenge Cup

07/02/2019

Current men’s softball world champion and No.1 in the world New Zealand will host No. 3 Japan and No. 4 Australia during the TAB Challenge Cup 2019, to be held from 8-10 February at Rosedale Park in Albany, Auckland. As a major boost for men’s softball in Oceania the event will be live broadcasted on TV in New Zealand (SKY Sports TV) and Australia (Fox Sports Australia).

A WBSC sanctioned event, the TAB Challenge Cup will provide crucial competition for the three nations, as they prepare for the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship 2019, slated to be played in Prague and Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, from 13-23 June.

New Zealand Black Sox will have 11 players from the WBSC Men’s Softball World Championship 2017 roster, who clinched the seventh world championship for the Kiwi nation. In front of them, Japan and Australia will try to prevent the host team to claim back to back titles in the Challenge Cup (two years ago New Zealand defeated Argentina, 9-0 in the final). New Zealand B complete the field of teams for this elite level event.